Thaïs (saint)
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St. Thaïs of Roman Alexandria and of the Egyptian desert was a repentant courtesan.
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Modern Novel, Opera, Play, Statue
After the distinctive artistic lead of Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) in his La tentation de Saint Antoine (1849, 1874), there eventually followed, in a decidedly more skeptical, historic-religious vein, the novel Thaïs (1890), which inspired the opera Thaïs (1894), later the play Thais (1911), and the statue Thaïs (1920s).
- Thaïs is an historical novel by Anatole France (1844-1924) published at Paris in 1890. Paphnuce, an ascetic hermit of the Egyptian desert, journeys to Alexandria to find Thais, the libertine beauty whom he knew as a youth. Masquerading as a dandy, he is able to speak with her about eternity; surprisingly he succeeds in converting her to Christianity.
- Thaïs is an opera with music by Jules Massenet (1842-1912), first performed at the Opéra in Paris on March 16, 1894. The libretto written by Louis Gallet (1835-1898) drew upon the novel of Anatole France. The opera omits the skeptical chapter on the vanity of philosophy. The hermit's name was changed to Athanaël, who is presented with greater sympathy than in the novel. The first duet between Athanaël and Thaïs contrasts his stern accents and her raillery. The last scene's duet shows a reversal of rôles, in which the pious and touching phrases of Thaïs transcend the despairing ardour of Athanaël; desolate chanting, and later, return of the beautiful violin from an earlier symphonic méditation (first played during the intermezzo when Thaïs had converted) complete the effect.
- Thais is a play written by Paul Wilstach, performed at the Criterion Theatre in London, March 14 through April, 1911 (31 performances), with Constance Collier (1878-1955) playing the title role and Tyrone Power, Sr. (1869-1931) as the hermit.
- Thaïs is a bronze and ivory statue of a dancing figure, crafted in France (with a limited production run) during the Art Deco era by the Rumanian Demetre Chiparus (1886-1947).
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